| Thelocactus macdowellii | |
|---|---|
| |
| Conservation status | |
 Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Cactaceae |
| Subfamily: | Cactoideae |
| Genus: | Thelocactus |
| Species: | T. macdowellii |
| Binomial name | |
| Thelocactus macdowellii (Rebut ex Quehl) W.T.Marshall | |
| Synonyms | |
List
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Thelocactus macdowellii, called the Chihuahuan snowball, is a species of cactus native to northeastern Mexico. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Description
Thelocactus macdowellii is a small, spherical cactus, typically 4 to 10 centimeters tall and 4 to 12 centimeters wide, with a yellowish apex covered in woolly hairs. It has 30 or more ribs, each with 5 to 7 millimeter high, conical, rhombic warts at the base. The areoles, initially woolly, bear 15 to 25 needle-shaped marginal spines, 1.5 to 2 centimeters long, and 3 to 4 central spines, each 3 to 5 centimeters long and straw yellow.
The flowers are funnel-shaped, 4 to 8 centimeters wide and up to 4 centimeters long, varying in color from rose red to magenta. The ovaries are smooth and have broad scales.
Distribution
Endemic to the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and the Chihuahuan Desert, Thelocactus macdowellii grows on scrubland and limestone hills in a very restricted area at an altitude of 1500 meters.
Taxonomy
First described as Echinocactus macdowellii in 1894 by Leopold Quehl, with the specific epithet honoring the Mexican gardener and plant collector José Alberto McDowell. The species was later placed in the genus Thelocactus by William Taylor Marshall in 1947
References
- Biología, Héctor Hernández (Instituto de; Group), Succulent Plants Specialist; Assessment), Martin Smith (Global Cactus (2009-11-18). "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- ^ "Thelocactus macdowellii (Rebut ex Quehl) W.T.Marshall". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- "Thelocactus macdowellii Chihuahuan Snowball". Gardens Navigator. Denver Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- "Thelocactus macdowellii". The Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- Vallicelli, Valentino (2013-08-04). "Thelocactus macdowellii". LLIFLE. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- Marshall, W. Taylor (1947). "The Genus Thelocactus". The Cactus and Succulent Journal of Great Britain. 9 (2). British Cactus and Succulent Society: 28. ISSN 0007-9375. JSTOR 45135523. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
External links
Media related to Thelocactus macdowellii at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Thelocactus macdowellii at Wikispecies
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Thelocactus macdowellii |
|
| Echinocactus macdowellii | |